FLAKES!
A celebration of snow and slush! Last Thursday, my 2nd graders performed this awesome musical, Flakes, for a full house and they rocked it! The musical has cute dialogue, catchy songs, dancing suggestions and the message of “although we are alike, no wo are the same! You are special and unique like a snowflake!”. The recommended ages are K-3, but I recommend no younger than 2nd grade. In the songs Cold Snap and We’re Flakes!, the verses are wonderful, but a little tough to remember the words on if you don’t practice them quite a bit.
This musical has nothing to do with santa or Christmas, so if you are looking for something like that, then this is a winner!! All my students, regardless of beliefs, could participate in this musical.
Movement Exploration
At a recently attended workshop, I purchased a great book called The Book of Movement Exploration by John M. Feierabend & Jane Kahan. Here is what Amazon says about this book: “This book is for ages 3 to 9 years. These activities bring out the strong movement impulses in children, who love to burn off energy by spontaneously dancing around the living room or running from place to place. Children will develop an awareness for their bodies, time, space, weight, locomotion, flow, and shape. Performed quickly or slowly, with music or without, solo or in a group, these activities make for fun, engaging educational experiences for children.”
I have been going through all the activities in the book and love them! Great way to incorporate movement into every music class. Or if you notice you’re losing your student’s attention… or if you’re needing to give your students a wiggle break? Perfect activities! I am very excited about incorporating these movement activities into my music classes!
Toss ‘N Talk Balls
There are many Toss ‘N Talk Balls for all different subjects. They a great for social skills, ice breakers, and a way for students to use their imagination and reading skills. Here are the two I have for my music class:
The Toss ‘N Talk Movement Ball is a great way to add movement to your music class! It is a blow-up beach ball, with tons of movements for students to perform. Students use their imagination and creativity to act out the movements. There are several ways to incorporate this ball into your class room. My favorite is passing the ball around the circle with music, and when the music stops, the action under the student’s left thumb is the action they should perform. Great for a brain break! Here is what Amazon says about the Toss ‘N Talk Movement Ball: Illustrated with over 80 imaginative range-of-motion, stretching and simple movement activities, such as “Sway like a tree in the wind,” “Dance hilariously” and “Reach up and pick 5 apples from a tree.” Players simply toss, catch, read and react! Includes activity idea sheet. 24″.
The Toss ‘N Talk About Music Ball is geared towards older students, and can be modified for younger ones. I will use this with my 4th graders with a couple modifications. It combines music and physical activity, along with reading. Here is what Amazon says about the Toss ‘N Talk About Music Ball: “Add some physical fitness and a whole lot of fun to your reminiscing sessions. When players catch the ball and their thumb is touching a red category, they must name a song title; if it’s touching a black category, they must sing or hum a verse. 24″ with game and activity ideas.”
New Books!
I just love half.com! It is a great place to get cheap, used books, and the shipping prices drop if you purchase 2 or more books from the same seller. Here are some great deals on books I got yesterday! (All of these books are available at West Music as well, which is where I would’ve written a PO to get them from, if the deals weren’t so great on Half!)
There’s dreadful news from the symphony hall – the composer is dead! In this perplexing murder mystery, everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. But the composer is still dead. Perhaps you can solve the crime yourself. Join the Inspector as he interrogates all the unusual suspects. Then listen to the accompanying audio recording featuring Lemony Snicket and the music of Nathaniel Stookey performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Hear for yourself exactly what took place on that fateful, well-orchestrated evening. Very Good Condition, $7.24 after shipping. $14.50 from Amazon. $17.99 BEFORE shipping on West Music.
Click here to download the teacher’s guide for the book.
In this book, students are introduced to great music through great works of art. From “The Flight of the Bumblee” to “The Four Seasons” to “Night on Bald Mountain,” music is illustrated by great works of art, and the text and accompanying CD urge students to listen for certain instruments. Can you hear the car horns honking, played by clarinets? Can you hear the horses’ hooves, played by castanets? When each CD track is played, students will stop, look, and listen as never before.
Classical music is filled with unforgettable images. In this book, great examples of pictorial music are matched to masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for an introduction to both music and art appreciation for young listeners. Included is a CD featuring 12 short works and an introduction to the orchestra and the instruments. Very Good Condition, $9.82 after shipping. $12.89 on Amazon. $18.95 from West Music BEFORE shipping.
This is a simple way to combine music and math, with instruments and counting. This book offers an introduction to beginning multiplication. Students learn to count by twos, threes, and fours as they follow a group of monkeys parading down the street. The monkeys are playing instruments! The rhythmic text adds to the parade theme, while the animals’ shenanigans make counting fun. A note to adults gives suggested activities to reinforce the ideas presented in the book. Good Condition, ex-library hardback book, $4.74 after shipping on Half. Paperback only available on Amazon.
Great for Kinders and young students at the beginning of the year. In this story, Howard gets into a lot of trouble for not listening. When he becomes a better listener, his life improves dramatically. Teacher and counselor endorsed. For more reviews, the Listen Up song and other free, fun resources that support the book, visit wedolisten.org.
A picture-book version of the nursery rhyme/song about a boy tending to all the animals that live on his farm. Color illustrations accompany the text., An old English rhyme names all the animals a farm boy feeds on his daily rounds.
Perfect for supplementing Lynn Kleiner’s “Bought Me a Cat” lesson from Farm Songs and the Sound of Moooosic!
Paperback only available on Amazon. Hardback from Half: Good condition, ex-library book, $3.24 after shipping.
Pizza Fraction Visuals to Help Teach Rhythms
Another great bargain I got my hands on from a teacher transferring to a higher grade, is a Pizza Fraction Fun Jr Game. When teaching rhythms and helping students understand the fractions behind the rhythms, I always refer to pizza. Not only is it delicious, but it’s something the kids can all relate to.
Now, for a buck, I have 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and 1/8 pizza fraction pieces! No more drawing unrealistic pizzas on the board to explain fractions and rhythms! In order to use these to easily teach, I put magnets on the back of each piece, so they will stick to the whiteboard. The junior set unfortunately does not contain 1/16 pizza slices; however, the regular version does!
Interested in more food/fraction resources? Check out the book Eating Fractions by Bruce McMillan.
Guided Reading Beach Ball
I am always looking for ways to incorporate the core curriculum into my classroom. One way is through literature. Here is my find of the day!
A third grade teacher at my school is having a “garage sale” in her classroom after school this week. Me, being a bargain shopper that loves to get first pick and good deals, went digging early today and immediately after school before the other teachers migrated down the hall. I purchased several things that I’m thrilled about, especially the two “guided reading beach balls”. One ball has six open-ended phrases, and one ball has six questions to reinforce comprehension skills. Using these beach balls will be helpful in reviewing the many stories read in my music room. Students can toss the colorful beach balls around the classroom for a fun, hands-on guided reading lesson!
These beach balls are available for purchase here for $6.95.
Echo Chain
I’ve had several emails questioning what “echo chain” means on my lesson plans and where to get one. Basically, I use it to help teach and reinforce solfege.
Using Books in the Elementary Music Classroom
There is an ever-increasing need to make music visible in schools and cross-curricular. Every subject, including math, science and literacy, can be integrated into the music classroom. When I was younger, music was a separate subject from everything else; however, today music and literacy go hand in hand. Using books in the elementary classroom is a strong belief of mine. The “Reading Corner” in my music classroom consists of about 100 books that help teach music. Many of these stories are non-musical and can be made musical by adding instruments or singing a song about it.
There are millions of children’s books out there and only a tiny portion of those are music related or can be used in the music classroom. So how do you know which ones to use and what musical concept to teach with them? Use my Elementary Music: Book List & Musical Concepts spreadsheet to help you get an idea of some books and what musical concepts I use them for!
Also, find out more about my “Reading Corner” and tips on Music & Literacy in the upper right navigation bar.